Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis

Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, And Louis Khan In the field of Architecture, it takes not only talent, but creative vision to create works that stand the test of time in the collective imagination of the world. Three architects that accomplished just that were Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis Khan. If any architect is credited with pioneering modern design, it is undoubtedly Frank Lloyd Wright.

Indeed, his sense of intricacy combined with an innovative style places him among the ranks of the most accomplished architects of the twentieth century. Interestingly, Wright began his architectural career in industrial work, but found his true calling in residential buildings. It was in contemplation of these residential buildings that he conceived of the idea of "organic architecture," or the idea that a building should develop out of its natural surroundings.

To be sure, if Wright despised anything, it was the common "neoclassic/Victorian" styles popular among conventional architects of his day. After all, neither style can be described as "organic" or nature-inspired. Instead, Wright believed that each building must be designed, not by rigid or defined styles, but individually, based on the proposed building's function, surroundings, and materials. Wright further emphasized his idea of "organic style" in the interiors of the buildings he designed.

The inside of his buildings emphasized a feeling of space, open floor plans, and sense of flow. Specific examples of this style include his so called "prairie houses," specifically the Martin House in Buffalo, New York, and the Robie House in Chicago. In fact, the Robie house, designed in 1906, is one of the world's most famous buildings. In addition, one of his later works, the 1937 Kaufman House, more famously known as Fallingwater is specifically known for its incorporation of a natural waterfall into the house design.

The designs of Le Corbusier were as innovative as Wright's in their own right. Indeed, Le Corbusier believed that "a house is a machine for living in," a rather revolutionary attitude in the 1920's. Interestingly, even Le Corbusier's unbuilt projects were as talked about as his completed ones, and it is from some of these designs that sprung the heart of his style -- the five characteristics of "modern architecture," support pillars, an open floor plan (much like Wright), a plain facade, roof-top terrace, and strip like windows.

Of the homes that Le Corbusier did complete, two of the most noted were the Ozenfant (1922), and the Roche home (1923). Both followed the characteristics devised by Le Corbusier, and were striking in their austerity and geometric lines. In short, both homes, as well as his later projects would become the benchmark of modernity. Finally, the work of Louis Isadore Khan is perhaps the most revolutionary of the three (perhaps indicated by the fact that most of what he designed during his lifetime was never built).

Although his design style is characterized as "classically romantic," featuring sometimes towering stairwells and air ducts planted in the midst of main areas, many consider his designs and buildings to be "impractical," and "unorthodox." To be sure, Wright's "organic style," and Le Corbusier "modernism" were revolutionary as well -- however, buildings such as the Yale Art Gallery (1953), as well as the National Assembly Buildings in Dhaka, Pakistan, are.